Haircut
by x-Bademancer-x
Summary: Rapunzel's never had a haircut before. But as her hair grows out, the king, queen, and Eugene all decide she needs one. What will happen? Read to find out. Oneshot.


**Okay, so I randomly got this idea in bed one night. However, I was quite groggy and irritated because of this: don't you hate it when you're just about to fall asleep after a long day and suddenly you get inspiration? You don't want to get up to jot it down because you're too tired, and you don't want to just fall asleep because you know you'll forget it. I luckily chose the first option, despite the fact that I could barely see and my legs were like Jell-O. So I hope you all appreciate my sacrifice. ;D As always, enjoy =)**

**-CheckItOutGirl=)**

**A/N: 3****rd**** person p.o.v.**

**. . .**

_Haircut_

It had been two months.

Two months since the infamous Flynn Rider climbed her tower and took her to see the world.

Two months since she fell in love, only to have it ripped away by the devastating kiss of death so crudely brought on by the one she thought was her own mother.

Two months since, in a vain final attempt to save her even though he could not save himself, Eugene Fitzherbert had choppily hacked off her hair with a shard of glass, turning it brown and powerless.

But two blissfully safe, comforting, loving months later, Rapunzel's brunette, flippy pixie cut had grown out like a weed, nearly down to her waist.

Her locks were still flippy and wispy, but only at the ends, as if a negative energy was pushing the ends back up towards her sunshine-y face. By now she was practically the doppelganger of her real mother, the queen, and was often confused with her despite some minor yet still obvious differences. For example, the queen's eyes were _just _a bit bluer than Rapunzel's apple green. Rapunzel had more freckles across her nose than the queen. The queen usually wore extravagant gowns or intricate day dresses, while Rapunzel preferred a rainbow array of colors of several dresses specifically designed to be similar to the gown she'd explored the world in with Eugene.

Despite the occasionally irritating mix-ups, Rapunzel didn't mind having long hair again; in fact, she was excited that it was growing out so fast. It made her feel like herself again—flitting, dancing, bouncing Rapunzel. Not the esteemed princess, not the one who was forced to wear shoes, not the ever-gossiped-about royal member that the kingdom's most wanted thief just so happened to win over. Just Rapunzel, the girl with the magic hair.

But sometimes, as Rapunzel had come to learn the hard way, having long hair could be a burden. When it was blonde, Rapunzel was constantly guarded, on the lookout, and jumped like a frightened deer at the slightest twig snap because of its special powers. In its current long, brunette stage, it didn't seem like anything involving hair could bother her again. That is, until Rapunzel found herself subconsciously stroking her locks in bed, sing-whispering the incantation that haunted her her entire life while her mind pretended to make it glow. When she smiled in her sleep and woke up to find it was lifeless and brown, Rapunzel couldn't help but cry until Eugene snuck in and held her till she fell asleep in his comforting embrace.

After four straight nights of desperate sobbing and Eugene's heart breaking with each tear that strolled down her fair-skinned cheeks, the king, the queen, and Eugene unanimously decided that it was time for Rapunzel to get a haircut.

Rapunzel's hand immediately flew to her hair to twist it anxiously, a nervous habit she found hard to break even when it was too short to try.

"No!" Rapunzel cried, her voice surprisingly soft compared to the fear bubbling up inside her. Suddenly her large green eyes grew impossibly wider, and seemed to transform into the eyes of a small, frightened child.

Eugene immediately stepped forward, placing a hand on both of her forearms. She raised her green orbs to his, hopelessly pleading with him to change her parents' minds.

"No, no, no no _no no_," she started, visibly shaking under Eugene's strong yet gentle grip. "Eu-Eu-Eugene…I've never had a haircut before!"

That's when Eugene lost it. Falling into a fit of laughter, he leaned over and ironically clutched the side Gothel stabbed as he struggled to catch his breath, causing Rapunzel to wince in disgust. Her scared-little-girl eyes narrowed into furious slits, and when Eugene released his other hand from her forearm to steady himself on his knees, she crossed her arms and tapped her foot to a vicious beat. Her face gradually became a beet red and her eyes began to water.

"It's not _funny_!" Rapunzel insisted.

When Eugene heard and saw her hurt and the fact that she was about to go over the edge, he immediately stopped. Pulling her into a tight hug, Rapunzel tried to fight him, but eventually wound up sinking into his arms and nuzzling her face into his shoulder.

"Rapunzel," Eugene cooed, "there's nothing to be scared of. It's just a little haircut. It won't bite, I promise."

Rapunzel pulled away to roll her huge, round eyes at him. "I know _that_," she replied, "but—but…"

Rapunzel sighed in frustration as she calculated who to address. "Moth—I, I mean _Gothel_," she tried, the name foreign and acidic on her tongue, "told me that haircuts would…that they would…" Rapunzel's brows knit together as she fought back the memories, but eventually Rapunzel lost fighting them back…

_8 year old Rapunzel was dancing like a ballerina through the halls and doorways of the tower, humming her little incantation and laughing as a butterfly came in and landed on her nose._

"_Mommy, mommy! Look at the pretty butterfly!" Rapunzel called to Mother Gothel in the delightful lisp only a child can pull off._

"_Rapunzel, get that thing off of you! If it stays on there too long it could make you ill, darling! What have I told you?" Gothel didn't come to her daughter, trusting she'd take care of it herself; she was too busy making Hazelnut Soup for dinner._

_But little Rapunzel somehow felt the gentle creature's safety. She kept it on her nose, and then held up her hand for it to crawl upon. But just as she turned her head swiftly around to run and show her mother, her thick, heavy hair whacked her hand and sent the butterfly flitting away. _

_After a small fit of weeping and whispered goodbyes to her new friend, Rapunzel trotted her way over to the kitchen, just barely reaching the top of the table in height. She tugged on her hair, willing it to move as she did, but its heaviness and tendency to get caught in crevices made it hard to go _anywhere_._

"_Momma?" Rapunzel asked, nose red and wet from her innocent tears, "Can I get a haircut?"_

_Gothel dropped the spoon down into the pot at the question, omitting a loud clanging sound that sent Rapunzel's little ears ringing. When she turned around, her features were wild and tense, scaring Rapunzel momentarily before composing herself and plastering a hard smile on her thin lips._

"_Well dear, why on earth would you want to do that? Don't you know what haircuts do, child?" Her bony, tentacle-like fingers inched their way towards Rapunzel's face to playfully bop her nose, and leveled her face with the girl's. _

_Rapunzel thought for a moment, before shrugging innocently and responding with a sad "no". _

"_Oh, darling," Gothel started, making a 'tsk'ing sound in the back of her throat, "If you get merely an inch cut off, you'll lose a finger. If you get two inches, your sweet little face"—Gothel squished Rapunzel's face like a fish—"will get itchy and swollen. And three inches? Dear, don't get me started. You'll grow another foot! Can you imagine the trouble of walking around on three feet?"_

_By now, Rapunzel's eyes had widened to the point where her eyelids were nearly invisible. She hugged herself and, mustering up the courage, asked in her small soprano voice, "Wh-what else?"_

_Gothel proceeded to tell her the side effects all the way up to 44 inches, for Rapunzel's hair had reached nearly 50 inches at the time and knew that even little Rapunzel knew she needed to have _some _hair left, if she were to get a haircut at all, that is._

"_So," Gothel concluded, "how about that haircut, sweetie?" She had a cocky sneer on her face._

_Rapunzel looked like she had just seen a ghost. "No thank you, momma!" And with that, she ran back to her favorite window._

Rapunzel recalled the memory with a shudder. Even after all that time, she remembered that memory the most. Because, despite all the side effects Gothel had warned her about that she believed for so many years, Rapunzel always wished she could get a haircut. Even though it could be incredibly helpful in any given situation, it was hard to handle and control. It was one of the few things that Rapunzel had hated in her simple life.

Suddenly a million more thoughts were racing through her mind. Why would her parents and worst of all, Eugene, condemn her to possibly losing her hearing? Or growing an extra toe? Or worse, giving her warts all over her body?

What would Eugene think? Would he still love her with all her deformities? Would he ever hold her again, would he still stroke her hair the same gentle, loving way only his calloused hands can? Would he still kiss her? She couldn't live without those warm, tingly feelings in her stomach.

Rapunzel told Eugene and her parents all about what Gothel told her, inducing another laughing fit. Then the queen stepped forward and grabbed Rapunzel's shoulders.

"Sweetheart," she said in her warm, loving tone, "none of that is true, I assure you. There's nothing to be afraid of." And she planted a kiss on her forehead.

Rapunzel looked from her mother's kind eyes to Eugene's, the only ones in the room she completely trusted. Smiling at her like she was the greatest jewel he'd ever snatched, his amber eyes showed no counters to the queen.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, Rapunzel gave Eugene a comforting side hug and responded, "Okay. I guess I'll do it."

. . .

Rapunzel was sitting in front of her vanity, with no one else but Eugene, and stared at her reflection, soaking it all in. Memorizing her face the way it presently was, should one of Gothel's warnings come true. A button nose, big green eyes, light skin with a blush around her cheeks; the slim top half of her torso shown in the mirror, with a small bust and a shining emerald necklace around her neck. She was taking heavy, slow breaths, trying to slow her rapid, anxious heartbeat.

Eugene looked at her in the reflection as well. He saw the same things Rapunzel registered into her sharp, lovely brain, but with more depth; the big green eyes were not merely that, but windows to her innocent, beautiful soul that only he was allowed to enter. Her peachy cheeks blushed ever rosier whenever she caught his gaze, and her brilliant smile emerged, revealing every feature he loved about her. Her fair skin raised with gooseflesh at his touch; her shallow dimples surfaced, only able to be seen when you were just about to kiss her; the twinkle in her eyes that shined just for him. He was the luckiest man in the world, in his eyes.

Eugene's train of thought, however, stalled when Rapunzel spoke.

"Eugene?" she half-whispered, saying his name the way only she could.

"Yes, Blondie?"

"Are you sure nothing's going to happen to me?" She fixed her apple irises on his amber ones, filled with concern and fright.

"Positive." He started to make his way over to her.

"Really? No extra limbs, no swollen tongues, no cold feet for the rest of my life?" She searched his eyes hopelessly as he placed his rough hands on her slightly exposed shoulders, sending shivers down her spine.

Eugene thought for a moment. "No, no, and…maybe." His eyes softened and he kissed the top of her head, but she snapped it away so she could look at him for real, not just in a mirror.

"_What_? When?"

He replied softly, "When you say 'I do', Blondie." Rapunzel's lips turned up into a winning smile before she crushed them on Eugene's, his hands running through her hair as he pulled her closer to intensify it. She broke away, responding with a resounding "Never."

But their special moment was disturbed by the king and queen arriving with the best barber in town, who already had tons of plans ready for the princess to decide on.

Even though she felt bad for interrupting, Rapunzel couldn't help it. Between twists and flips and thinners and curls, her mind was in a blur, not having any idea what half of the terms meant. Tapping the colorfully dressed barber on the shoulder, she coughed respectfully and asked shyly, "Um…do you think you could just cut it the way Eugene cut it?" The king, queen, and Eugene all softened at the simple request.

With a reserved but heavily implicated "_Fine_", the barber readied himself to make the first cut.

"Eugene?" Rapunzel whispered, scared, gripping his hand in her left and her mother's in her right.

"One…" said the barber.

Rapunzel tightened her grips.

"Two…"

She sucked in her breath and shut her eyes as tight as she could.

"Three!" And the snap of the scissors confirmed it.

A long strip of hair was in the barber's hands, and held it up for Rapunzel to see. She unwillingly opened her eyes, but looked only at the hair in the reflection, scared to see if any of Gothel's warnings had come true. Her mouth was in a small "o" of shock at the strand.

Closing her eyes again, she asked, "Eugene?"

He chuckled a little at her side, brushing her cheek with his fingertips. "No extra limbs, no swollen anything, no warts…just my perfect Rapunzel."

She breathed a heavy sigh of relief and opened her eyes with a smile. She leaned forward, closely inspecting herself in the mirror, just making sure nothing really _had _changed and Eugene was just pulling her leg. But nothing had, and she sat back, satisfied.

"That wasn't so bad," she conceded with a giggle. "It was actually kind of…nice. My head feels lighter."

The whole room laughed, and Rapunzel settled herself in to the cushy chair.

And as the haircut continued, Rapunzel didn't get one blemish, wart, extra part, or deformity throughout the entire thing, to the pleasure of both Rapunzel and Eugene.


End file.
